THE VILLAINS REMIX AROUND THE WORLD

Everyone loves a good Daft Punk remix. However, there are hundreds of songs in the Daft Punk Remix category which resemble a marmot farting, and they have to be endured in the search for a splendid one. So when a good electro remix comes along, and of AROUND THE WORLD no less, it gives me a bit of a reccy.

The Villains are a trio from LA, who started out in the industry as audio engineers and are now having a punt at the odd track themselves. They have also completed a remix of Bloc Party's HUNTING FOR WITCHES which I've posted below. It isn't quite as good as the Daft Punk remix, but they gave it a red-hot go.

Daft Punk - Around the World (Villains more cowbell DJ edit)

Bloc Party - Hunting for Witches (Villains electro-banger remix)


Thanks, and goodnight

MUM TURNS ONE

Everyone loves their Mum... So what better way to reward her constant care on a Friday night, than with the gift of your attendance at her Birthday Party!
Mum's First Birthday will take place on December 7th, at the always brilliant World Bar, except she will be expanding up the stairs into the poolroom and the bordello room with twice the DJs and twice the bands! The line-up includes The Dardanelles, Grafton Primary and The Cassette Kids, and on the decks Sleater Brockman, the always lovely Anna Lunoe, and of course yours truly. Below, I've posted some Mum dance floor favourites from the past year to bring back those epic memories spent sweating it out in Bayswater Road's best.

Dashboard - Modest Mouse

B.E.A.T. - Justice

Around The World - Daft Punk

Pogo - Digitalism

Consolation Prizes - Phoenix


See You Theeeeeerrrrreeeeeee!!!!!

Mobius Band release "Heaven"

So, tonight I can't sleep. I'm watching the ceiling and letting thoughts spin around with no direction. I turned for my ibook and threw on recently released album "Heaven" by Brooklyn, USA group Mobius Band. Appropriate sounds for such contemplative moments. Full of off-kilter but friendly songs of hooky vocals, immaculate structures that change-and-add-and take away just at the right moment (listen and you might know what I mean). They're supplemented with interesting and quirky electronic bits and pieces.

MB's last album "The Sound of Static" was a household staple for summer afternoons with beers and friends or lemonade and ice creams. This new release on Ghostly, has similarly feel-good and introspective offerings. Loving it. Maybe I can sleep now.

Mobius Band Myspace

Mobius Band - Friends Like These
Mobius Band - Hallie

VAN SHE - CAT & THE EYE VIDEO

Above is a video of Van She's new single, Cat & The Eye. Not sure about the song yet... I'm not immediately in love with it, but I'll give it a couple more listens and see how it goes... To me, new Van She songs tend to stand like new Cut Copy songs; when I first hear them, I'm like "meh", but then the more I listen, the more I love...

The video is pretty fuckin special too. It reminds me of the combat training room in The Matrix, but with a kind of Return to Oz theme. There is a really clear, vibrant look to the visuals too. I'm not sure who directed it, but I'm a fan.

Appreciative.

Damn Arms releases "The Live Artex"

Since the demise of half of the band's incarnation as Snap!Crakk!, Damn Arms have steadily risen to be a force amongst the wave of post-punk dance-indie bands of the past few years.

Their debut full length, The Live Artex, released last week through Timberyard Records and produced by Nick Littlemore of Pnau & Teenager fame, proves their worth with a collection of tracks brimming with progressive, epic, danceable and fiercely scuzzy, synth-punk.

Having a swelling fanbase in the UK, a recent support slot with Midnight Juggernauts and playing opener to Cut Copy on their approaching "SO HAUNTED" tour – not to mention their own album tour at the end of the month, Damn Arms possess the right qualities to be the latest Aussie “it” band.

And their latest promo shots of the group in fencing attire (see front cover of The Brag this week) might just wrap up the album; potentially fatal but meticulously executed to slice you and your dancing shoes in to p.i.e.c.e.s.

Here’s the first single, Home Wrecker, plus personal fave, Wooden Leg, Evil Claw.

Damn Arms - Home Wrecker
Damn Arms - Wooden Leg, Evil Claw

CUTTERS TOUR HITS SYDNEY!

Woooot!! We'll be going to enjoy the fantastic-ness of Cut Copy this Thursday at The Metro in Sydney, which is giving me a slight reccy. I'm so excited, in fact, that I thought I would post a couple of their newer songs which will be on their sophomore album, IN GHOST COLOURS, due out in Feb next year. The three lads from Melbourne will also be playing shows at the Parramatta Roxy on Friday, and up in Newcastle at Panthers on Saturday. All shows will be supported by other Melbourne favvys Damn Arms and Knightlife.

Cut Copy - So Haunted

Cut Copy - Hearts on Fire


mmm, it's quart narce.

THE WOMBATS

These three lads from Liverpool are a bit of a new treat to the ears of Indie-lovin Aussies, but have been carving it up for a while in the UK indie scene. They're kind of like what you'd get if you threw Bloc Party, The Kaiser Chiefs and The Futureheads in a blender... like blending their sound, cos otherwise you'd just get blood and guts and guitars and snare drums and stuff... They have released a debut album A GUIDE TO LOVE, LOSS AND DESPERATION, which is a bit hit and miss with some of the tracks. But there are a couple which certainly get the feet moving. I've posted some of the goodens below, along with a remix by the Brilliant Brazilians, Cansei de Ser Sexy.

The Wombats - Let's Dance to Joy Division

The Wombats - Moving to New York

The Wombats - Kill the Director

The Wombats - Kill the Director (CSS Remix)


awe, fanks vewy much.

BIGFACE

Photo: RJ

From Glasgow, come BIGFACE. They blend a 5-piece band set-up with an electro aesthetic, resulting in a sound that has a capacity for structure and depth as well as dance floor fun. The combination of live instrumentation and electro cross-over allows stark variation within one song and the vocals come forth with equal parts punk and robotic delivery. "My Eyeball" features on Kitsune's latest remix release and is more straight-up electro than their other material with almost trance-like synths and carefully building bass, while other tracks start innocently enough before adding a more faster, sinister edge with aggressive guitar hooks, clattering percussion and sharp, spitting electronic arpeggio.

BIGFACE - My Eyeball
BIGFACE - Drink Juice Like
BIGFACE - My Body Moves Faster

Friendly Fires

With a punk-funk groove, falsetto vocals, off-beat guitar stabs and electronic bleeps bubbling beneath, Friendly Fires make indie sounds with a disco tinge and dancefloor-friendly groove. Out of the UK, They have released three EPs, one of all remixed material. They draw irrefutable comparisons to The Rapture and DFA releases without replicating them and have a distinct sound across of their material while varying in tempo and mood. With an ability to create DF-killers-to-be alongside brief contemplative moments, they're quickly climbing up my iTunes most-played list. "Photobooth" is going to become a set fixture in our sets for the next few months no doubt.

Friendly Fires Myspace

Friendly Fires - Photobooth
Friendly Fires - Paris